Mobile News

Forget 4G and optical fibre WiFi connections. The UAE will now have one of the fastest Internet connections in the world with LiFi.

The UAE-based telecommunications service provider du and UAE-born brand Zero1 recently demonstrated successfully the capability of state-of-the-art Light Fidelity (LiFi) technology in Dubai. This is the latest technology in data communication.

LiFi is a wireless optical networking technology that uses light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for data transmission instead of radio waves, reportedly giving it the data transmitting potential of up to 224GB per second.

According to research from Mordor Intelligence, LiFi is 100 times faster than WiFi technology, as well as being significantly cheaper. In addition, LiFi complements WiFi technology, minimizing the risk of data loss in a high-density area in a confined region. In doing so, it will be adding significant value to du’s wireless broadband portfolio capabilities in both indoor and outdoor data transmissions.

The integration of LiFi enables du to provide solutions for its business customers across municipal, commercial and industrial environments. du has demonstrated three use cases for LiFi technology, including Internet, video streaming and audio streaming over LiFi.

Saleem AlBlooshi, executive vice-president of Network Development and Operations at du, says, “With the Global LiFi market expected to reach $80 billion by 2021, we expect to see demand for this technology increasing exponentially over the coming years. We wanted to ensure our customers were aware of this technology; the demonstration of LiFi technology complements our broadband portfolio for the business segment. We are currently working with major businesses to create tailor-made LiFi solutions and to test and validate the applications so that we can ensure we offer the latest in innovation to our valued customers.”

The new innovative LiFi technology is particularly suitable for environments where safety and data security are paramount, such as hospitals, company headquarters, transport and security agencies.

2) BenQ tops UAE video projector market

BenQ, the internationally renowned provider of world-leading human technology and solutions, is the No. 1 player in the UAE Video Projector Market, with 25 percent market share, as per the latest report for Q4 2015 released by the world’s top-rated specialist research and consulting firm Future Source Consulting.

Manish Bakshi, managing director, BenQ Middle East and Turkey, says: “The video projector market in the UAE is highly competitive with many players and we are proud that our video projectors are leading the market with a 25 percent share.

“We offer a wide range of projectors for corporate, education, home theater and home entertainment, bringing images to life with utmost clarity and lifelike color. Our projectors are also popular for their interactive features, allowing for group collaboration, contribution and co-creation, with touchscreen- and WiFi-compatible projectors.”

BenQ is committed to innovation in projector technology. Recently, the company launched their new home video projector series with Rec. 709 technology – the international HDTV standard to guarantee accurate reproduction of cinematic color. In addition to delivering stunningly true cinematic colors, select models feature a 1080p full HD optimized optical system for unmatched picture clarity and detail, along with lens shift, side projection, short-throw technology, big zoom, as well as Full HD wireless connectivity and user-friendly interface.

“Our affordable price and high performance offering make us the projector of choice in the market,” Manish Bakshi adds.

3) Linksys new router ideal for 4K streaming

Linksys, the first brand to sell 100 million routers globally, has launched the Linksys Max-Stream™ AC1900 MU-MIMO Gigabit Wi-Fi Router (EA7500) in the Middle East.

The Max-Stream, which is will be available at the forthcoming GITEX Shopper, uses technology optimized to provide 4K and HD TV streaming to multiple devices, as well as play video games, listen to music, check email, shop and more – all at the same time.

The new Linksys AC1900 MU-MIMO router leverages the 802.11ac Wave 2 MU-MIMO (Multi-User, Multiple Input, Multiple Output) technology, which helps ensure uninterrupted Wi-Fi connectivity to multiple devices in the home and functions as if multiple devices have their own dedicated router. Perfect for families with multiple users with their own streaming devices, the Max-Stream AC1900 leverages MU-MIMO functionality, which helps make Wi-Fi networks more efficient when delivering high bandwidth 4K streams to multiple devices simultaneously.

Philips Lighting and UAE-based retailer aswaaq have announced a partnership for the first connected lighting indoor positioning to improve customer experience.

The new system uses lights that act as a positioning system that allows customers to use Smartphones to access new location based services. This empowers the retailer to provide a smooth shopping experience for their customers, which may help boost sales and customer loyalty.

The system works by the individual light points transmitting their location through a modulation of light (a technology called Visible Light Communication) that is imperceptible to the human eye but detected by the customer’s Smartphone camera. Once the customer downloads the retailer’s app they can choose to access location-based services, such as locate items on their shopping list to an accuracy of 30cm. The data stream is one-way and no personal data is collected by the lighting system.

By installing Philips LED-based indoor positioning technology in its Al Bada’a supermarket, Dubai, aswaaq will benefit from a 50 percent reduction in lighting-based energy consumption, as well as maintenance cost savings and a reduction in its carbon footprint.

5) IT budgets major challenge for security solutions

Nearly 60 percent of respondents in a recent IT security survey identified budget constraints as a major challenge for implementing IT security solutions. The survey of Middle East organizations was conducted by the International Data Corporation (IDC).

At the same time, 68 percent of Middle East CIOs (chief information officers) indicated that maintaining security will remain their biggest technology challenge throughout 2016, as they face mounting pressure to ensure high levels of system performance and availability.

This requirement to seemingly do more with less featured heavily on the agenda of IDC’s recent IT Security Roadshows in Jeddah and Riyadh, where more than 280 senior security professionals from the Kingdom’s government, oil and gas, manufacturing, construction and BFSI verticals – to name just a few – gathered to undertake an in-depth examination of the increasingly volatile forces shaping the prevailing threat landscape in Saudi Arabia as new economic realities begin to bite.

“Given the current economic environment, it is only natural that organizations in Saudi Arabia look to revisit their IT budgets,” says Megha Kumar, senior research manager for software at IDC Middle East, Africa, and Turkey. “But, while cost optimization is an obvious priority, organizations must not neglect the critical importance of their information security posture. Employing a reactive approach to security in these circumstances is certainly a strategy to avoid, as it creates exactly the sort of ecosystem that cybercriminals require in order to gain access to systems and even compromise critical infrastructure.”

“Budget constraints are likely to remain a challenge for the foreseeable future in Saudi Arabia,” says Kumar. “But the security conundrum becomes even more challenging when organizations look to start downsizing their headcounts in a bid to free up much-needed resources. In such a scenario, the threat of insider risk is exacerbated as disgruntled employees leave the company, potentially taking sensitive corporate information with them.”

6) honor’s 5X fuels Huawei growth

Huawei honor says its honor 5X Smartphone, launched in February, has sold five times more than its predecessor, the 4X.

This has helped drive the brand’s 100 per cent growth year-on-year, which is delivering a 15 per cent contribution to Huawei’s extensive progression in the Middle East.

Research released by analysis firm IDC predicts that worldwide Smartphone shipments are expected to rise to 1.9 billion by 2019 – up from 1.4 billion last year. However, it is predicted that the average selling price of handsets, will decline by 4.6 per cent each year from $293.61 to $236.38. This step-change in consumer behavior toward mid-range devices is being driven by gadgets such as the honor 5X, with its premium features including the fingerprint sensor, which has never before been seen in its price category.

Within the priority markets for Huawei honor, there is a huge shift occurring toward mid-range phones (in the $100 to $300 price range). In 2015, according to the IDC, this sector increased by 25 per cent in the UAE and 34 per cent in Saudi Arabia.

7) Bathroom and digital connection

The relationship between users and their digital devices is often closer than those between best friends. A research by Kaspersky Lab and B2B International shows that 33 per cent of respondents in the UAE take their devices into the bathroom and more than a quarter of them share secrets using their device that they don’t want anyone else to know. However, this trust could be leaving users at risk as devices can be hacked and private information exposed to the world.

The study found that the overwhelming majority of people in the UAE (83 per cent) store important, confidential and sometimes irreplaceable information on their Smartphones, including passwords, messages, photos, contacts, files and more. Twenty-eight per cent in the UAE say that their devices carry sensitive information they wouldn’t want anyone else to see.

Further, these devices are carried and used everywhere: 64 percent in the UAE use their devices at work, 52 percent in cars, 46 percent on public transport, 66 percent while in bed and 33 percent use their devices even in the bathroom.